Uganda Law Society scraps ‘Your Lordship’ title, courtroom bowing before judges

Lawyers in Uganda have been directed to stop bowing before judges and to abandon traditional court titles such as “My Lord,” “Your Lordship,” “My Lady” and “Your Worship.”

The directive was issued by the President of the Uganda Law Society, Isaac K. Ssemakadde, through Executive Order RNB No. 12 of 2026.

The order was released on Tuesday, July 7, 2026, to coincide with Saba Saba Day, which marks resistance against authoritarianism in East Africa.

Under the directive, members of the Uganda Law Society are no longer to engage in physical gestures of deference before judicial officers.

They are also barred from using what the order describes as colonial-era and feudal forms of address in court.

Instead, judges and other judicial officers are to be addressed with simpler titles.

Appellate court judges may be addressed as “Mr. Justice” or “Madam Justice,” while High Court judges may be called “Mr. Judge” or “Madam Judge.”

Magistrates, registrars and other judicial officers are also to be addressed by their official roles, or by their surnames where appropriate.

The order further instructs advocates and litigants to stand upright and address the court as free citizens.

It says members of the Radical New Bar should not observe or enforce practices that compel citizens into “postures of humiliation.”

Mr Ssemakadde argued that Uganda’s justice system has been weakened by executive interference, corruption, long delays and selective justice.

He also accused the judiciary of failing to respond adequately to enforced disappearances, torture and attacks on lawyers.

The order further criticised the military for allegedly undermining judicial independence through illegal arrests, detention of civilians, court invasions, obstruction of lawyers and journalists, and the trial of civilians before military tribunals.

According to Mr Ssemakadde, these problems have been reinforced by an outdated courtroom culture that places judicial officers above ordinary citizens.

He said bowing and the use of titles such as “My Lord” create unnecessary distance between the Bench and the people the courts are meant to serve.

“This Order shall strip away the theatrical props of elitism that insulate judicial officers from the daily discomfort, frustration, and powerlessness experienced by Ugandans in the justice system,” the directive states.

“By removing these barriers, we force the powerful to confront the humanity and dignity of the people they serve, or fail to serve.”

Beyond courtroom etiquette, the order also calls for a nationwide consultation on the future of Uganda’s court culture within 90 days.

The consultation is expected to involve representatives of the Bench, the Bar and citizens’ associations.

It will examine the continued use of colonial wigs, gowns and foreign-language requirements in Ugandan courts.

The process will also review the Judiciary Client Charter with the aim of rewriting it in plain language and making it more reflective of Ugandan realities.

The directive takes immediate effect for members of the Uganda Law Society.

It is to be published on the society’s official website and circulated to members through official communication channels.